Russia: US says debt impasse will end soon

Friday, 11 Oct 2013 | 9:57 AM ETReuters

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Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told their counterparts of the G-20 group of economies on Thursday that the standoff over the U.S. debt ceiling will be resolved by Oct. 17, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.

The U.S. Treasury has said it could quickly run out of cash if the cap on U.S. borrowing authority is not raised by Oct. 17.

"Colleagues from the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve have said that they hope to solve the issue soon. They said that the problem will be solved by the 17th," Siluanov told reporters after a dinner with G-20 counterparts gathering on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank meetings.

"It's an important issue for everyone. Both Lew and Bernanke believe that these difficulties can be overcome soon," Siluanov added.